After The Rain Has Fallen
by Kraven Ergeist
Summary: Nothing could have prepared them for this. There had been no warning. No reason. No time to prepare. :: Keitaro x Kitsune :: CHAPTER 2 IS UP!
1. Chapter 1

**Love Hina Fan Fiction**

**After the Rain Has Fallen**

By Kraven Ergeist

Nothing could have prepared them for this. There had been no warning. No reason. No time to prepare. One day, they just received a phone call, and then the whole of Hinata-sou was gathered in mourning.

Keitaro just wasn't speaking to anyone. Everyone who lived in that building felt obliged to console him, but he just kept turning people away. Shinobu tried fixing his favorite meal. Even Motoko took the time out of her day to try to coax him out of his room. But he would just shrug them off and respond in monosyllabic sentences.

Nobody could figure out what to do. There really wasn't anything _to_ do. This just hadn't been in anyone's plans.

An air of destitution had fallen over the residents. Nobody felt like doing much of anything. The hot spring had seen such little usage that it was starting to go into disrepair. Dinner, cleaning, everything felt like such a chore. Haruka and Kitsune hardly came home from the bar anymore. Makoto spent more and more time practicing, but just couldn't concentrate on what she was doing. Kaolla and Sarah spent most of their time away from the inn. Everyone just kept finding reasons to stay away from the Hinata-sou. The whole building was starting to become something of a ghost house.

For a while, things lingered on like that. The residents would go about their lives without saying much to each other. Everyone mostly kept to themselves. But then one day, Motoko came home with Keitaro's midterm grades. That got quite a few concerned faces.

"Our professor says that if he doesn't pull his grades up, he'll fail the semester."

Everyone had been collected for a staff meeting of sorts. It had taken some doing to get everyone together. Su had, by far, been the hardest to find. But once Kitsune had learned of the news, she'd leapt at the opportunity to locate all the members of the inn.

"Finally! A chance to break Keitaro out of this slump he's been in!"

Kitsune's seemingly sudden revival received another fair share of odd stares.

"Kitsune…" Haruka calmly interjected. "In case you haven't noticed, we've all been kind of depressed lately. It's only reasonable."

"Yes," Shinobu voiced. "I mean…we all miss Naru. Maybe we should give him some more time."

Kitsune just clenched a fist. "We've given him time. It's been three months since it happened. But if he doesn't get on with his life, he'll end up regretting it for the rest of his days!"

Motoko nodded. "I agree. Keitaro should not be allowed to linger on like this."

"He's just sad that Naru's gone," Shinobu pointed out. "Give him a chance."

"Yeah, but this is Keitaro we're talking about here," Sarah said, as she meandered into the living area, Kaolla hot on her heels. "Frankly, we're lucky he hasn't shipped off to Bora Bora by now."

"Hey, Kitsune…" Haruka pursed her lips. "Why are you being so insistent about this?"

"Well, somebody has to be," Kitsune frowned. "You all see it, don't you? Keitaro's needed our help in the past. We've always managed to get him back on track before. I see no reason not to do the same thing now! And if I have to be the one to remind you all, then so be it!"

"But what about Naru?" Haruka frowned. "I mean…you were such good friends before."

Kitsune just scowled at her old drinking buddy

"She was like a sister to me, Haruka. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let her husband waste away like this, no matter what the reason. She wouldn't want that. Not Naru."

Everyone held their silence.

"Now, I say we help him out while we can," she urged. "Come on guys, it's the least we could do."

Motoko stood up, holding up her shinai. "I'm in."

Shinobu nodded, weakly. "I'll…I'll help if I can."

Kaolla just grinned. "Well, you _know_ I'm in."

Sarah just grunted. "Well, since it seems that it's gonna be the predominant activity around here, I guess I'm in too."

Haruka shrugged. "I don't know if I'll be any help, but I'll do what I can. He's my nephew after all."

Kitsune grinned. "Alright, we're all set. Now, here's the plan…"

xxxxx

Keitaro was still lying in bed, but from the dark circles under his eyes, Kitsune could tell he hadn't been sleeping. The shades were drawn and there was hardly any light in the room as Kitsune quietly slipped in. The residents had maintained their resolve not to enter without knocking, but Kitsune had opted specifically not to adhere to that particularly modicum of politeness. As dreary as Keitaro was at this point, she doubted he even heard her come in.

For a while, she sat next to his futon, away from the direction his head was turned. She didn't know if he was asleep or just lying there, but she wasn't sure she wanted to get his attention just yet. She hesitated – her plan called for his forcible removal from his room and being taken with the rest of the group for a day out on the town, but now that she was here, out of site of the others, she wasn't sure what to do. She had come in here, fully intending to yank him out of bed. She was certainly strong enough, and Keitaro was neither heavy enough to hinder her, nor strong enough to resist her.

Licking the dry from her lips, she finally spoke out.

"Keitaro?"

There was a stirring of bed sheets as Keitaro turned his head over and his eyes opened laboriously.

"What do you want?" he groaned like a cancer patient in the throes of chemotherapy, squinting through pained eyes at someone who wouldn't let him die in peace.

The prone figure of torment was pitiable enough to stop even the always-cheerful Konno Mitsune from responding with anything remotely encouraging.

"Well…" she bit her lip, trying to remember that steady resolve she had not long ago. She was doing this for the sake of her best friend's memory, and more importantly, for Keitaro's sake, who was her landlord, valued friend, and occasional subject of scandalous torture. But no matter how much she wanted to just drag him out of his room and back into the real world, when faced with the sullen look on his face, all she wanted to do was crawl into that bed and start crying all over again.

Now there was an idea to think twice about. It was pretty clear that both of them could have used a decent snuggling right about then. But he needed one from his wife, not from her slovenly beer-swilling roommate. No, what he needed was to wake up.

"You haven't shown your face in months," Kitsune though, pointing out the obvious. As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt like a moron. Positive reinforcement, you dumb ass! Don't point out something that'll just make him feel even more like shit! Give him a reason to get out a bed, don't just tell him what he's been doing wrong! You don't need to be a psychologist to know that!

With a grunt, Keitaro rolled back over, looking away from Kitsune.

"Would a vacation help?" Kitsune blurted out. "You always used to just go on some voyage overseas whenever things got you down, so…"

Damn it, where was her usual wit? She couldn't think of anything snappy or enticing. Before, all she'd have to do was flirt with him to get a reaction, but that would only add to the problem in this case. Realistically, ever since he and Naru had gotten married, she'd never really been able to talk to him, not honestly. She used to have such fun with him, and now…

"Damn it, Keitaro, the rest of us care about you too!"

Keitaro pulled the covers over his head. "…Leave me alone."

Kitsune gritted her teeth. "Yeah, that's right, just shut everyone out! Now that you've lost the love of your life, that life isn't even worth living for anymore? Is that it?"

The lump under the quilt just grunted.

"Stop acting like a child, Keitaro! God, What did Naru ever see in you? It took you _years _for you to even tell her that you loved her! If you had just had the balls to confess to her from the start, you would have so much more time together than you actually had!"

The lump beneath the quilt released another sound, only this time it sounded like a muffled scream.

Kitsune just crossed her arms. "Fucking child…"

With another muffed agonized scream, the comforter flew across the room as Keitaro hurled himself up on his hands and knees, and glared at the woman with eyes tear soaked red.

"_Get out of my life and leave me be_!" he screamed loud enough to rattle the wooden doorframe. "I don't deserve your sympathy, Mitsune! So just_…_fucking_ leave me ALONE_!"

Kitsune's normally narrow eyes had widened to disc shaped. She'd never seen Keitaro act this way before. She'd seem him cry before. She'd seem him yell before. But never before had she seen him so furious, so helplessly grief-stricken. He was gasping for breath after his outburst, head hung, cold sweat and tears dripping from his face onto the tatami floor.

Kitsune eventually found her voice. "We all miss her, Keitaro…but…well, misery loves company, so…we're all here for you, Keitaro. You need to-"

"No…" he panted, fists clenched in anguished frustration against the floor. "You don't understand…you just don't understand…"

Kitsune shook her head. She wasn't going to fall into that all too familiar trap of unfalsifiable excuses. "Keitaro, listen…"

"No, you listen…" he breathed, his eyes hidden in shadow, his voice ragged and torn. "I'm not worth the effort, Mitsune. I don't deserve to call you my friends. You all should hate me…should have kicked me out years ago. If you did…maybe Naru wouldn't have…"

Kitsune had to stop herself from groaning in disbelief. "Keitaro, what are you talking about? It wasn't your fault at all."

"_Yes it was_!" he shouted again, collapsing in another bout of sobbing tears. "God damn it, yes it was! It was my fault!"

Kitsune let out belabored sigh. "Keitaro…how on _earth_ could it have been _your_ fault that a truck driver fell asleep at the wheel? It was an accident, Keitaro! No one's fault!"

"She wouldn't have been there if we hadn't gotten into an argument that night!"

That made Kitsune hesitate. That was new information to her.

"What do you mean?"

Keitaro pushed himself back onto his futon and sat on his knees, eyes lowered. "The night it happened…we had a fight. I'd forgotten the groceries that week, and all we had was cup ramen. Nothing serious, just a little spat. One of those things that you forget about the next morning. But then…she stormed out of the inn…and then…and then…"

Kitsune was honestly speechless. She didn't blame him of course. That was ridiculous. But she could see clearly how he'd put all the blame on his shoulders. Three months, dealing with that sort of guilt…

Her arms were around him before she could think.

"Keitaro…" she breathed, holding him tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't know! I'm sorry."

To her surprise, he didn't push her away or try to break free. He just sat there, shaking, taking the affection with a loathing self-hatred, the kind where you enjoy something when you know you shouldn't be. Kitsune knew it well. Because right at the moment his arms came around her and he buried his crying face against her shoulder, she felt the exact same feeling.

She didn't know whether to urge to stroke his shoulders came from a desire to comfort him or to relieve her own agitation, pent up from all the stress of losing her best friend, having to put up with the foul mood that had come over Hinata-sou, and dealing with a sulking landlord who she had never really seriously considered until that very moment.

Though he'd caught her interest when he'd first arrived, he'd practically sold himself to her best friend, even though it had taken him years. And she wasn't complaining, not really. He was fun to tease all the same, and she'd had her sights set on Seta back then. With the goal-oriented archeologist constantly on the move, and with Haruka constantly one-upping her in vying for his attentions, she'd all but lost hope.

But despite it all, she had still considered Keitaro her friend. Her friend, who she constantly teased and flirted with, and thought about once or twice when she was all alone in the baths. He never faulted her whenever she was late on her rent (which was often), never took her baiting seriously (which was also often), never spoke ill of her or anyone for that matter. While she couldn't exactly call it a crush, she always found herself wondering if, aside from poor fortune and a lack of motivation or a smidgen of coordination, there was anything about Keitaro Urashima that she didn't find endearing.

The day he'd gotten engaged though, she'd dispensed with those thoughts, keeping them in the back of her mind where they'd stayed up until that very moment. Now all the sudden, he was in her arms, and instead of thinking about how devastated he was at losing Naru, or of how much he needed a friend at that moment, all she could think about was how warm his body felt, how tightly he embraced her, how he simply buried himself into her.

Good gods, why did he have to fit so perfectly in her arms?

"I'm the worst…"

The sobbing, shaking Keitaro Urashima just continued to embrace the unwelcome guest, content to soak in her much needed and much neglected comfort, ignorant of the guilty pleasures bore by the fox in his arms.

xxxxx

A/N: Well, this ended up coming out a lot angstier than I had intended, but I suppose it was inevitable, given the twist I used to get these two together. This is my first Love Hina fan fiction. I will be writing more chapters in the near future.


	2. Chapter 2

**Love Hina Fan Fiction**

**After the Rain Has Fallen**

By Kraven Ergeist

They didn't exactly make it out of the inn as per the plan. But they at least got Keitaro out of his room. And as little solace as their could be found for him or any of the others at the dinner table that night, Kitsune had provided her own: The trans-cultural phenomenon that was fermenting sugar into ethanol – better known as alcohol. The Germans had their beer. The Irish had their whisky. The Italians had their wine. The Russians had their vodka. And the Japanese had their sake.

Shinobu, Kaolla and Sarah felt kind of left out. It was a feeling that came slightly before the feeling of being completely overwhelmed by four drunken adults pointing out imaginary flaws (or values) in their counterparts and singing off-key to music that had been playing four tracks ago.

Mutsumi couldn't stop hiccupping. Motoko's kimono was growing looser by the minute. Sarah was sneaking most of the choice bits of food while everyone was distracted. Shinobu was in all but a state of panic as dish after dish hit the floor with a crash, and Kaolla had decided that now was an appropriate time to start swinging from the banister.

Keitaro had more or less passed out in Kitsune's lap, though few in the group were even aware of his presence anymore. The only person who was aware was the owner of that particular lap, though she hid her awareness of it with further laughter and pouring of more sake for herself and others.

She knew, just as the rest of them did, that this was merely a temporary reprieve. At best, Keitaro would return to his room by the end of this little event, barf his brains out, and feel even worse about his life in the morning when he realized that he hadn't been dreaming after all.

At worst…well, he could die of alcohol poisoning, and then they'd all feel even more horrible, her worst of all. It had been her idea after all. But she wouldn't think about that possibility. Right now, Keitaro was finally out of his room, and doing something other than sulking or pretending to sleep. Though as far as the latter was concerned, he had merely gone from pretending to sleep in his room to pretending to sleep at the table with the residents of the inn.

Or maybe he really was sleeping - one way to be sure.

"Keitaro?"

How her voice was able to reach him above the din of the room, she was not sure. Maybe it was because he was especially attuned to her voice. The more likely cause was the fact that her lips were practically pressed up against his ear. But who could say?

"Kitsune?" his voice was weak and shaky. She knew this wasn't his first time with alcohol, though perhaps this was his first time with such a quantity. "I don't…feel so good…"

Kitsune stared at the raucous she had created. At this point, it was more for the others' sakes than for his. The rest of the inn-mates (technically a misnomer, but she felt the term applied) were almost as depressed as he was, so this was a good reprieve for all of them. Though in terms of Keitaro's own personal health, she decided that this hadn't been her brightest idea of all time.

"Come on…" she slung his arm over her shoulder, stumbling to her feet. Shinobu was trying (and failing) to convince Motoko to stop swinging her shinai around, that Kaolla was not, in fact, a piñata, swinging from the hanging lights as she was. Mutsumi was giggling like an idiot at the antics at the table, still hiccupping uncontrollably (Kitsune briefly wondered at the young woman's respective experience with alcohol). Sarah had started digging greedily into the dessert platter that Shinobu had so carefully laid out for this purportedly momentous event that had by now devolved into something akin to a bar fight, though with its all-female cast, Kitsune wondered if "catfight" was the more appropriate term.

Not enough biting and scratching, she decided, and with everyone's attention conveniently diverted to Su taunting Motoko to try another swing in her inebriated state (a considerable danger to herself and others, as Shinobu pointed out), Kitsune whisked Keitaro away with surprising ease (he'd lost a lot of weight in those past months – had he been eating at all?) towards his room.

Though she had to make a quick pit stop to make first. It was time for Keitaro to dig up his old religious textbooks and get down on his knees to pay his respects to the porcelain gods.

"BRLAAAAUGH!"

Keitaro expelled the night's contents in a few quick heaves. Not surprising, considering how little he had eaten, he probably had more alcohol in his stomach than food.

"Feel any better?" Kitsune asked sympathetically. She and Naru had been in this situation many times before, sometimes from this angle, sometimes with their roles reversed. Kitsune fought back a sob as she realized how much Keitaro reminded her of Naru. The painful realization that their friendship would be forever weighted down by this constant reminder of a person who they loved and was no longer there…

No, she thought. She would fight it. She would overcome that burden. She was above such feelings! She would not allow her feelings for her friends to be enslaved by that one black stain in a tapestry of gold.

She almost laughed, as she reminded herself that if her life were to be woven into a tapestry, it would hardly be made of gold. God, she hadn't had nearly enough to drink yet. But Keitaro came first. And if his fourth bout of retching was any indication, he'd had more than his fair share.

"Easy now…" she held him by the shoulders as his stomach emptied itself of its poison.

Most sugars got absorbed into the stomach within the first few seconds of being swallowed, so even if he were to throw up all the night's intake, there might still be enough left to affect his brain a little. Enough keep his mind off of Naru. For now, at least.

Kitsune gritted her teeth. Were temporary solutions really the best she could come up with? She was tired of feeling so useless and shallow. All she could offer were passing fancies, be it booze or flirtations. Even if she fucked him, it would only be a momentary distraction. Neither of them would look on the act with anything but shame. Both would be thinking too hard about Naru, though from arguably different viewpoints. Kitsune wondered, briefly, at the fact that the idea of another woman being on her albeit hypothetical lover's mind did little to anger her at all. It helped that the woman in question was her best friend. And also that she was dead.

God damn it, she wished she was back at the dinner table. She needed more booze, and she needed it now!

"Kistune?"

The woman in question looked down at the sweaty locks that covered her landlord's weary looking eyes. But she was surprised when she saw that his lips had curved into a faint smile.

"Thank you…"

She was taken aback. Why was he thanking her? She hadn't done anything useful! If anything, she'd made the situation worse! What could he possibly be thanking her for?

"Thank you…" he repeated, lifting an arm to wipe the spittle from his face. "For not giving up on me…"

Kitsune wanted to say it was nothing, to say something reassuring. But she found herself staring dumbfounded as Keitaro stumbled over to the sink to wash his mouth out and wipe his face.

"I can see why you do this…" Keitaro said, staring at his face in the mirror. He reached for a toothbrush and began cleaning out his teeth and gums. "I hardly know what I was upset about anymore."

Kitsune noticed that as he said this, while his voice wasn't slurred, he was talking slower, taking more time to form his words. He hadn't quite lost control of his motor functions yet, though the way he grasped the sink to steady himself told her that his usual lack of balance certainly wasn't a helpful addition to being drunk.

"And I know I'm going to make recompense for this come morning…but I just don't care…" he rinsed his mouth again and grabbed a towel and wiped his face roughly, scrubbing his face and hair and dropping the towel of the floor. His face was beet red he had toweled himself off so violently, though some of that was probably the booze. His eyes looked sore, but the set in his jaw and tension in his brow was anything but depressed.

"Come on…" he said in a tone of voice that spoke of determination. "Let's go back downstairs. Everyone showed up for this, we should at least be with them."

Kitsune's eyes widened with uncertainty. "Are you sure you're up for it? You look pretty worse for wear."

Keitaro rubbed his eyes. "I'll manage. You…all of you…you were there for me."

Then he gave her a smile that she'd keep with her until the day she died.

"It's time that I was there for you."

And then he promptly passed out.

Kitsune caught him before he could hit the floor. Every muscle in his body had gone slack, and she was once again hoisting his weight over her shoulders.

"You're a real piece of work, Keitaro…" she smiled. She felt happy again. So he wouldn't gracing them all with his presence at the dinner table, but so what? The plan had worked, and better than expected. He was up and he was motivated. He may not have been able to follow through with it, but at least his heart was in the right place. Now all he needed was some time and some TLC.

She pulled open the door to his room and lay him gently onto his futon and turned to go. There was a bottle of sake down there with her name on it, and now she had an even better reason to drink than ever.

Look back at Keitaro's sleeping form, she paused. Did she really need those last few rounds? Something about this room made her want to curl up beside the guy and go to sleep right next to him. It was odd – she didn't feel at all promiscuous. And even if she did, acting on that would only detract from the situation. But no, all she wanted to do was curl up into that futon with him and snuggle down for the night.

She gave the door a passing glance before sliding it shut with her foot. No one downstairs would miss the two of them, and if they were found out in the morning…well, nothing had happened, and she would explain it as such. Not like any of them would believe it, but what did she care?

But still, taking any degree of physical enjoyment out of her late roommate's husband, innocent as it was…what right did she…?

Screw it. She was tired, he was already asleep, that futon looked comfy, and there was no real reason for her to leave him like this. If anything, it would give him someone to hold onto at night. If she could provide some emotional support, then shy shouldn't she. And besides, this meant she was finally cutting back on her alcohol intake. Sure, it was purely so she could enjoy something else in its place, but that was still something, right? Right?

She curled up next to Keitaro. He wasn't Naru. She needed to stop thinking of Naru. He was Keitaro, and that was all that mattered. They've already spent the last few months mourning her. They would always miss her. But it was time to move on.

And Kitsune was prepared to move on. And she was determined to help Keitaro move on as well. One way or another.

His face was the last thing she saw before she drifted off to sleep. His hair was sweaty and his breath still carried the minty smell of toothpaste. Suddenly, she was thinking back to how she'd felt that afternoon when he held her in his arms. Also those missed chances when they were living together at Hinatasou, all because she was too preoccupied with Seta and him with studying to get into school to fulfill that silly promise.

Maybe…maybe, if she could be there for him, he wouldn't flunk out. Maybe he'd be able to retain some portion of his promise. Maybe he'd be able to live his life in happiness. And maybe…maybe, after all was said and done…he would continue to be there for her. Just like he always used to be.

It was a happy thought to think on.


End file.
